1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to storage systems, and more particularly to interactive self-storage rental systems.
2. Related Art
A self-storage facility is a term generally applied to businesses that offer storage space for rent, usually on a month to month or other limited time period. Typically, a self-storage facility includes a number of individual storage spaces or cubicles that may be separated from each other by common walls and have separate entrances. The storage spaces are generally rented to individual customers or business entities for the purpose of storing personal property. For example, a home owner changing homes may wish to temporarily store personal items, such as a t.v., sofa, and other household items, in a storage facility before moving into a new home. Customers may also use a self-storage facility to store accumulated possessions over an extended period of time. In essence, self-storage facilities provide the extra storage space that customers require over and above the storage capacity of their primary living facility.
A key component of known self-storage facilities is a manager who is generally on-site and answers questions of prospective renters, personally shows the prospective renters available storage units, enters into rental agreements regarding the self-storage facility, and either directly or through strategically positioned cameras monitors and polices the premises. In this manner, the manager provides direct on-site customer services for the self-storage facility.
If, however, the on-site manager is unavailable, the customer may not wish to wait for service and will decide not to rent a storage unit from that particular facility. Thus, a rental opportunity will be lost. Further, requiring a manager to be present at each self-storage rental facility by a concern operating a number of different self-storage facilities adds greatly to the cost of operations.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved self-storage rental system and method of operation that is less labor intensive and particularly adapted for use by persons lacking an aptitude for or interest in technical knowledge and skills ordinarily associated with computerized and/or automatic systems, thus resulting in improved efficiency and reduced costs of operation.